Molotov Cocktails

September 17, 1991 - Skinheads armed with clubs, rocks and
Molotov cocktails attacked a building in Hoyerswerda, an
eastern city that housed about 150 foreigners, mostly from
Vietnam and Mozambique. Hundreds of local residents gathered
to cheer the Skinheads and resist attempts by police to quell
the rampage. The assault and public demonstrations of support
continued for days, ultimately ending on September 23, with
the evacuation of the besieged housing unit.

August 22-28, 1992 - Rostock, in eastern Germany, was the
scene of several nights of Skinhead violence against a hostel
housing 200 asylum seekers (mainly Gypsies) and 150 Vietnamese
guest workers. The hostel was partially destroyed by the 150
attacking Skinheads, who were openly encouraged by at least
500 cheering residents. Authorities evacuated the asylum
seekers on August 24, and the guest workers fled as the
building was being torched. Once again, violence rewarded the
Skinheads with victory; the Interior Minister of
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the state in which Rostock is
located, was subsequently dismissed for having failed to
immediately order the police to quell the riot.

November 13, 1992 - Two Skinheads in Wuppertal (in the state
of North Rhine-Westphalia) kicked and burned to death a man
they mistakenly thought was Jewish, after the owner of the bar
in which the victim and perpetrators were drinking shouted,
"Jew! You must go to Auschwitz. Auschwitz must reopen! Jews
must burn!" The Skinheads kicked the victim until he lost
consciousness, poured schnapps on him and set him on fire. He
died of internal injuries while the Skinheads drove to the
Netherlands in the victim's car, where they dumped the body.
In February 1994, the two Skinheads and the bar owner were
convicted of murder and given sentences of 14, 8 and 10 years,
respectively.

Disclaimer: not all skinheads are neo-nazis or white
supremacists. There are many skinheads who are non- or anti-racist, and
who come from a variety of different religious and cultural backgrounds.
Nizkor recognizes their achievements in anti-racism: they are part of
the traditional, non-racist skinhead subculture and are not the
perpetrators of the hate crimes discussed here.

Unless otherwise specified, the word "skinhead" within these pages
refers only to neo-Nazi and white supremacist skinheads, the
perpetrators of hate crimes and participants in racist organizations.
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